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17α-ethinylestradiol cometabolism by bacteria degrading estrone, 17β-estradiol and estriol

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Abstract

17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), the active compound of the contraceptive pill, is a recalcitrant estrogen, which is encountered at ng/l levels in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents and rivers and can cause feminization of aquatic organisms. The aim of this study was to isolate micro-organisms that could remove such low EE2 concentrations. In this study, six bacterial strains were isolated from compost that cometabolize EE2 when metabolizing estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2) and estriol (E3). The strains belong to the α, β and γ-Proteobacteria. All six strains metabolize E2 over E1, at μg/l to ng/l concentrations. In 4 days, initial concentrations of 0.5 μg E2/l and 0.6 μg EE2/l were degraded to 1.8 ± 0.4 ng E2/l and 85 ± 16 ng EE2/l, respectively. No other metabolites besides E1, E2, E3 or EE2 were detected, suggesting that total degradation and cleavage of the aromatic ring occurred. This is the first study describing that bacteria able to metabolize E2, can subsequently cometabolize EE2 at low μg/l levels.

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Abbreviations

E1:

Estrone

E2:

Estradiol

E3:

Estriol

EE2:

Ethinylestradiol

HRT:

Hydraulic residence time

SRT:

Sludge retention time

WWTP:

Wastewater treatment plant

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank IWT Vlaanderen to support this research with a Ph.D. funding (Grant Number IWT-33298). Petra Vandamme is greatly acknowledged for performing the molecular analyses. The authors wish to thank Ilse Forrez and Lynn Vanhaecke for their valuable comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Microbial Ecology and Technology (LabMET), Faculty of Bio-engineering Science, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000, Gent, Belgium

    Bram Pauwels, Klaas Wille, Tom Van de Wiele, Willy Verstraete & Nico Boon

  2. Laboratory of Chemical Analysis, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, 9820, Merelbeke, Belgium

    Herlinde Noppe & Hubert De Brabander

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  1. Bram Pauwels
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  2. Klaas Wille
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  3. Herlinde Noppe
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  5. Tom Van de Wiele
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  7. Nico Boon
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Correspondence to Nico Boon.

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Pauwels, B., Wille, K., Noppe, H. et al. 17α-ethinylestradiol cometabolism by bacteria degrading estrone, 17β-estradiol and estriol. Biodegradation 19, 683–693 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-007-9173-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-007-9173-z

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